Toner-based printing technologies such as electrophotography have excellent electronic printing characteristics. The toner is controlled by electrostatic force, which is determined by the product of the toner charge and the electric field acting on the toner. In electrophotography the toner is attracted to an electrostatic latent image and forms an image. Because the toner is controlled by electrostatic force, high speed printing on plain paper can be realized. Electrophotography consists of six complex processes: charging, exposure, development, transfer, fixing, and cleaning. Various technologies have been proposed to realize a simpler printing mechanism. An electrostatic printing mechanism is described in which charging and exposure occur within a single process that generates an electrostatic latent image. As examples of direct printing by this simpler mechanism, TonerJet® and toner cloud beam are reviewed. As a fundamental element of toner-based printing technology, the toner charging mechanism is summarized.